What is market research? Do you know what market research is? Market research is the process of finding out more about a particular group of people so that you can offer them the products and services that they will more than likely take advantage of. Market research is important because without doing it, how will you know what to offer to your prospects and customers.

Doing market research online is a breeze. In fact, it is where I suggest you start out when trying to figure out what it is that your prospects are looking for. For one, you can start off at the search engines to do your research. Do a search for popular forums in your niche to get an idea of what people are looking for. To begin this search, simply type in “(your niche) forum”. You will a ton of results come up.

You will want to join the forum and interact with the members on there also. This will allow you to get a first hand look at what the members on the forum are going through. Post messages on the forums but be sure not to advertise your message across the forum boards. This is the fastest way to get your account banned, so keep your marketing message in your signature line (if they allow it).

Doing market research is pivotal to your success. If you don’t have access to the internet, then one place that you can do market research is within your own customer list. Within your list of customers, there will be a select group of people who will have ideas on how you can better improve your business. This can be in the form of an opinion or even a product revision recommendation. No matter what form it comes in, going to your customer base as a source of ideas is a good thing to do.

Could you imagine doing business without first doing your homework on your prospects first? It’s like navigating in a black hole. Without information on what your prospects are interested in, how are you going to figure out what it is that they are looking for. It bares repeating – market research is necessary if you want to see a flood of sales coming in.

You should start on the internet to do your research first. The internet has evolved in so many ways over the last couple of years and search engines such as Google, Yahoo, and Bing make it easier for you to find exactly what you’re looking for fast. Doing your homework is important, and it’s something that I highly recommend you doing before you attempt any kind of selling.